Chawan @ Citta Mall

CITTA Mall was officially opened not long ago in the neighbourhood of Ara Damansara, as we checked out what was in store, we were also not forgetting to sample the gastronomic delights On our various visits there, we had patronized Chawan twice, the same famous kopitiam in Bangsar that serves various local, mainly Malay menu. Despite our return visit, what left the most impression on us was not really the taste of delicacy, but the bad experience from incompetent, unresponsive and ignorant staffs.

During our first visit, it was obvious there was shortage of hands. The owner of restaurant had to sweat off his brows personally, busy walking up and down taking customers’ orders, follow-up and stopping by occasionally to make sure the patrons were enjoying the moment. Although there was a minor mistake in the order, it was quickly rectified and we did enjoyed the meal. However on our second visit, the situation got s bad that all the credits we initially thought of this place were discounted.

Despite having increased the numbers of staffs, the service didn’t improve and instead got worse and turned off a few table of patrons as we observed. Firstly, the menu was slow to be presented, it was as if no one bothered to serve until you had to put up your hand, loudly called out “excuse me!”, or show whatever gestures obvious enough to get the staff’s attentions. This was what we’d seen happening to other customers. For us, the menu was shown too many times by different waiters even after we already had our order taken. Just how disorganize the system was.

And then for the dishes to serve, it wasn’t only a painful wait, but also a challenging moment where the patrons needed to be alert and smart so as to avoid consuming food or drink that you hadn’t ordered by mistake. When asked to confirm the dishes or drinks (sometimes they look really similar, or when you’re trying out new food that you not know), the waiter only responded with yet another clueless look.

To be honest, the food was great, but I’m sure the customers are not only paying for the quality of food, but also expect substantial pleasant treatment. That doesn’t require exclusive attention such of fine-dining, but at least sincere and diligent enough to be enjoyable. I truly hope that improvements will be done as it is a nice place to makan and hang out.